Background

Hazel is one of Salem'sassociates, however, most of his early life and how he came to join the group are unknown.

However, he seems to have a personal history with Ozpin, and in "Vault of the Spring Maiden", it is revealed that Hazel's sister, Gretchen Rainart, died during a training mission after she joined Beacon Academy against Hazel's wishes to become a Huntress. As a result, Hazel blamed Ozpin for his sister's death. Also, judging by his comment that "We've dealt with their kind before" in "The Next Step", he may have battled against Silver-Eyed Warriors in the past.

Meeting with Salem

Hazel, the strong and silent type

After the fall of Beacon, Hazel attends a meeting with Salem and the rest of her associates at her lair. He questions how a "novice" like Ruby Rose was able to defeat Cinder Fall, noting that they have successfully dealt with her kind before. Salem then instructs him to meet with the White Fang leader, Sienna Khan, to ensure that they fall into line.

In Mistral

Hazel encounters Oscar in Mistral.

Once in Mistral, Hazel helps Oscar Pine get a ticket from a ticket machine at a train station by hitting the top and forcing one out. He tells the boy not to let something as small as that hold him back.

Arriving at the White Fang headquarters, Hazel appears before Sienna Khan, stands his ground against her threats and is prepared to convince her to cooperate with Salem. To his surprise, however, Adam murders Khan after enacting a coup to supplant her as High Leader. As Khan's corpse is taken away, Hazel confronts Adam about his actions, angry at the needless bloodshed and not knowing anything about his plans.

Attack on Haven

Hazel then arrives with the White Fang at Haven Academy on the night of the attack. As the White Fang set up for the attack, Hazel enters the building and seals the door shut, preventing any entry or exit. While he is reluctant to fight, he obliges as Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie challenge him. However, their battle is cut short when Cinder impales Weiss Schnee.

Hazel attacks Oscar in rage.

After Lionheart is knocked into Hazel, he berates the headmaster over for Oscar humiliating him. However, once he learns the boy is actually Ozpin, he drops Lionheart and his calm demeanor suddenly changes as he recognizes the cane in Oscar's hand. Vowing to kill Ozpin repeatedly, Hazel jabs shards of Lightning Dust into his arms and attacks, intent on avenging his sister who he proclaims was killed by Ozpin. Though Oscar tries reasoning with him, Hazel refuses to yield and soon finds himself on the defensive when Ozpin takes control. Qrow Branwen tries to intervene, but Hazel sends him flying with a lightning-enhanced punch. As he easily overpowers Ozpin, Qrow and Ren, he calls Ozpin a monster for hiding behind a child's face. When Nora joins the battle, Hazel overpowers her at first, but his new opponent soon turns the tables on him and sends him through the wall and outside the Grand Hall. Rising to his feet, he augments his strength with Fire Dust crystals. When Blake Belladonna arrives with the Faunus of Menagerie and the Mistral police and foils Adam's end of the mission, Hazel calmly informs him to resolve the situation himself. As he watches the situation outside continue to deteriorate, he is suddenly stabbed by the stinger of Weiss' Queen Lancer and pulled back inside.

As the battle resumes, Hazel destroys Weiss' Lancer with a fire and lightning projectile. But then he is drop-kicked by Blake, and he later roars in rage after Lionheart flees the battle. Hazel then fights with Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai against Ruby, Weiss and Blake, but they are eventually worn out and on the losing side. When Yang Xiao Long emerges from the vault with the Relic of Knowledge in hand, Hazel growls in anger, realizing Cinder has failed and they have truly lost. After Emerald breaks down and unleashes a powerful hallucination onto the heroes, Hazel and Mercury make their escape down a mountain path, the former carrying the unconscious Emerald.

A Wanted Man

One month after the Battle of Haven, Hazel's image is shown on a newscast. It identifies him as one of the perpetrators behind the assault on Haven and believes him to have fled the city along with Cinder, Mercury and Emerald. At some earlier point, he gathers information on Ruby's group from Lil' Miss Malachite, learning that the heroes are taking a train to Argus.

Arriving back in the Land of Darkness, Hazel disembarks from a Mistral airship that docks just outside Salem's palace, leading Emerald and Mercury. After a brief encounter with Tyrian, he leads the children inside.

Hazel's punishment for taking the blame on the Haven failure

Hazel is then seen kneeling within the council chamber as Salem inquires about why the mission at Haven failed. Hazel tries to take the blame, but it only serves to incite Salem, who binds him to the floor with Grimm hands. After Salem releases him, he boldly speaks up about Ozpin's plans for the Relic. Realizing Salem is infuriated by the news, Hazel escorts Emerald out of the chamber.

Later, when Mercury and Emerald witness Salem creating an army of Grimm outside, Hazel explains to the two with an old saying: "If you want something done right... do it yourself."